A critical edition of the concert overtures of Hector Berlioz, with particular reference to the historical and literary background

This thesis is presented in two volumes, the second being an appendix to the first. Volume I contains detailed entries on the compositional history of each of the five overtures, showing which primary source has been chosen as the foundation of each edition. It examines literary and other influences which prevailed in Paris during this period, including that of Berlioz's two teachers; but the main thrust of the historical content lies with each overture. It also takes a close look at an organological issue, involving the trompette à pistons in Paris in the 1820s and 1830s. Volume II presents the five overtures in the manner of a critical edition, complete with full critical apparatus, but without a Foreword per se, since that would constitute a precis of what is found in volume 1